4of139Fotis Dulos is escorted to an awating police vehicle after being arrested and processed at State Police Troop G Headquarters in Bridgeport, Conn., on Tuesday Jan. 7, 2020.Photo: Christian Abraham, Hearst Connecticut Media

5of139Fotis Dulos is escorted to an awating police vehicle after being arrested and processed at State Police Troop G Headquarters in Bridgeport, Conn., on Tuesday Jan. 7, 2020.Photo: Christian Abraham, Hearst Connecticut Media

6of139Michelle Troconis is escorted to an awating police vehicle after being arrested and processed at State Police Troop G Headquarters in Bridgeport, Conn., on Tuesday Jan. 7, 2020.Photo: Christian Abraham, Hearst Connecticut Media

7of139Michelle Troconis is escorted to an awating police vehicle after being arrested and processed at State Police Troop G Headquarters in Bridgeport, Conn., on Tuesday Jan. 7, 2020.Photo: Christian Abraham, Hearst Connecticut Media

8of139Connecticut State Police officers lead Fotis Dulos, center, into a car outside the State Police barracks Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020, in Bridgeport, Conn., after he was arrested at his home in Farmington. He faces charges he murdered his estranged wife Jennifer Dulos, who went missing in May 2019. (AP Photo/Chris Ehrmann)Photo: Chris Ehrmann, Associated Press

9of139Connecticut State Police officers lead Fotis Dulos, center, from the State Police barracks to a waiting car Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020, in Bridgeport, Conn., after he was arrested at his home in Farmington. He faces charges he murdered his estranged wife Jennifer Dulos, who went missing in May 2019. (AP Photo/Chris Ehrmann)Photo: Chris Ehrmann, Associated Press

16of139On January 7, 2020, detectives from the Western District Major Crime Squad arrested two individuals by warrant in connection with the disappearance. Both were taken into custody safely and without incident. Fotis Dulos of Farmington, DOB 08/06/1967, is charged with Capitol Murder, Murder, and Kidnapping.Photo: Connecticut State Police

21of139Media and television news crews gathered outside State Police Troup G barracks in Bridgeport, Conn. Jan. 7, 2020. Three people, including Fotis Dulos, were arrested Tuesday. Dulos was arrested and charged with murder in the death of his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos.Photo: Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media

22of139Media and television news crews gathered outside State Police Troup G barracks in Bridgeport, Conn. Jan. 7, 2020. Three people, including Fotis Dulos, were arrested Tuesday. Dulos was arrested and charged with murder in the death of his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos.Photo: Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media

23of139Media and television news crews gathered outside State Police Troup G barracks in Bridgeport, Conn. Jan. 7, 2020. Three people, including Fotis Dulos, were arrested Tuesday. Dulos was arrested and charged with murder in the death of his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos.Photo: Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media

24of139Media and television news crews gathered outside State Police Troup G barracks in Bridgeport, Conn. Jan. 7, 2020. Three people, including Fotis Dulos, were arrested Tuesday. Dulos was arrested and charged with murder in the death of his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos.Photo: Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media

25of139Media and television news crews gathered outside State Police Troup G barracks in Bridgeport, Conn. Jan. 7, 2020. Three people, including Fotis Dulos, were arrested Tuesday. Dulos was arrested and charged with murder in the death of his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos.Photo: Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media

26of139South Windsor attorney Kent Douglas Mawhinney has been accused of violating a protective order involving his estranged wife by using his former client, Fotis Dulos, to contact her.Photo: Peter Billard / Contributed photo

27of139Media and television news crews gathered outside State Police Troup G barracks in Bridgeport, Conn. Jan. 7, 2020. Three people, including Fotis Dulos, were arrested Tuesday. Dulos was arrested and charged with murder in the death of his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos.Photo: Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media

28of139Media and television news crews gathered outside State Police Troup G barracks in Bridgeport, Conn. Jan. 7, 2020. Three people, including Fotis Dulos, were arrested Tuesday. Dulos was arrested and charged with murder in the death of his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos.Photo: Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media

29of139Media and television news crews gathered outside State Police Troup G barracks in Bridgeport, Conn. Jan. 7, 2020. Three people, including Fotis Dulos, were arrested Tuesday. Dulos was arrested and charged with murder in the death of his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos.Photo: Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media

30of139Media and television news crews gathered outside State Police Troup G barracks in Bridgeport, Conn. Jan. 7, 2020. Three people, including Fotis Dulos, were arrested Tuesday. Dulos was arrested and charged with murder in the death of his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos.Photo: Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media

31of139Media and television news crews gathered outside State Police Troup G barracks in Bridgeport, Conn. Jan. 7, 2020. Three people, including Fotis Dulos, were arrested Tuesday. Dulos was arrested and charged with murder in the death of his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos.Photo: Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media

56of139FOTIS VISITS SECOND PROPERTY
1:37 PM MAY 24, 2019
Cellphone records indicated Jennifer Dulos' estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, left his home on Jefferson Crossing and traveled to 80 Mountain Spring Road in Farmington, another home owned by his company, Fore Group. He remained there for more than two hours before heading back home.Photo: Dan Haar / Hearst Connecticut Media

57of139SECOND TRIP TO SECOND PROPERTY
5:24 PM MAY 24, 2019
Cellphone records indicated Fotis Dulos headed back to 80 Mountain Spring Road a second time the same day and stayed for about 10 minutes.Photo: Nathan Spotts / Contributed photo

59of139BLOOD SPATTER
7:00 PM MAY 24, 2019
Police said they found blood stains that were later determined to be from Jennifer Dulos in the garage of her home. Police said there was also evidence of attempts to clean up the crime scene and they determined Jennifer Dulos was the victim of a "serious physical assault."Photo: Hannah Dellinger / Hearst Connecticut Media

61of139TRASH DUMPING
7:10 PM MAY 24, 2019
Fotis Dulos, and his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, were seen on video stopping at 30 trash bins in Hartford dumping garbage bags containing Jennifer Dulos' blood, according to arrest warrants. Fotis Dulos was also seen inserting an item into a storm drain that was later determined to be altered license plates, the warrant said.Photo: Tyler Sizemore, Hearst Connecticut Media

64of139LOUD BANGS5 AM MAY 25, 2019Neighbors of a Sturbridge Hill Road residence in New Canaan being developed by Fotis Dulos' homebuilding company, the Fore Group, said they were woken up by the loud sounds of metal banging coming from the property the morning after Jennifer Dulos went missing.Photo: Grace Duffield / Hearst Connecticut Media

65of139FOTIS' PHONE2:47 PM MAY 25, 2019New Canaan detectives seized Fotis Dulos' cellphone when they briefly met with him and his attorney in the police station lobby.Photo: Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media

66of139WORD SPREADS
MAY 28, 2019
After being missing for three days over the Memorial Day weekend, the Jennifer Dulos case gained more attention as police searched a wooded area near her home.Photo: Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media

67of139SEARCH INTENSIFIES
MAY 29, 2019
Police flooded Waveny Park, searching by ground and air while focusing on a tall grassy area and a shallow pond.Photo: Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media

68of139SEARCH OF POUND RIDGE
MAY 30, 2019
Authorities investigated a property owned by Jennifer Dulos' parents in Pound Ridge, N.Y. Police declined to comment if anything was found, but said the next day the search had been concluded.Photo: Robert Marchant / Hearst Connecticut Media

69of139VIGIL AT ST. ALOYSIUS
8:30 PM MAY 30, 2019
Hundreds gathered at St. Aloysius Church for a prayer vigil for Jennifer Dulos. “We’re gathering here to pray for Jennifer, to pray for her family, to pray for those who love her, to pray for this community,” said Rev. Robert Kinnally, pastor of St. A's.Photo: John Kovach, Hearst Connecticut Media

72of139HAVE YOU SEEN HER?
9:00 AM MAY 31, 2019
Police returned to the spot where Jennifer Dulos' SUV was found to hand out missing person flyers to passing motorists in hopes someone saw something the previous Friday.Photo: John Kovach / Hearst Connecticut Media

73of139DNA AND HAIR SAMPLES
6:00 PM MAY 31, 2019
Police arrived at Fotis Dulos' home where they remained for about an hour before escorting him and Troconis off the property. Dulos then submitted blood and hair samples at the state police Troop L barracks in Litchfield.Photo: Facebook

75of139LAB CONFIRMS BLOOD TEST
JUNE 1, 2019
The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Forensic Laboratory determined the blood found on items recovered by police in Hartford trashbins was from Jennifer Dulos.Photo: Grace Duffield / Hearst Connecticut Media

76of139ARRESTS
11:00 PM JUNE 1, 2019
Fotis Dulos and Michelle Troconis are arrested at an Avon hotel and held on $500,000 bond on charges of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and first-degree hindering prosecution.Photo: AP

78of139VIGIL AT ST. MARK'S
6:00 PM JUNE 2, 2019
A second vigil was held at St. Mark's Episcopal Church. Aaron Cooper, head of New Canaan Country School, described Dulos as “an incredibly warm person” and told the crowd she always has been deeply involved in everything her children have participated in at the school.Photo: Tatiana Flowers / Hearst Connecticut Media

81of139NO VISITATION
JUNE 4, 2019
A Stamford judge granted a request by the court-appointed attorney for the Dulos children to suspend Fotis Dulos' visitation rights.Photo: Hearst Connecticut Media file photo

82of139FARBER SEEKS CUSTODY
JUNE 4, 2019
Jennifer Dulos' mother, who has cared for the missing woman's five children since her disappearance, files an emergency motion for custody as the investigation continues.Photo: Hannah Dellinger / Hearst Connecticut Media

83of139DUMP SEARCH
JUNE 4, 2019
Authorities said they have not immediately found evidence related to the Jennifer Dulos case after combing through piles of garbage that had been taken to a Hartford dump from the area police say Fotis Dulos was seen throwing away trash bags.Photo: Lisa Backus, Hearst Connecticut Media

87of139FREAK ACCIDENT JUNE 6, 2019 It was revealed the family's nanny killed Fotis Dulos' mother in a car accident in the driveway of an Avon home where they were living in 2010. The 24-year-old nanny was not charged in the death of Kleopatra Dulos, 77.Photo: Ethan Fry / Hearst Connecticut Media

89of139MOM'S TROUBLE WITH LAW JUNE 7, 2019 Fotis Dulos remained jailed at the Bridgeport Correctional Center unable to post $500,000 bond. Tronconis is out on bail with GPS monitoring.Photo: Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media

90of139INTO THE WOODS JUNE 7, 2019 As investigators continued to focus their search efforts at Jefferson Crossing, drone footage showed Michelle Troconis leading authorities into the wooded area behind the home.Photo: Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media

92of139WHERE WAS MICHELLE? JUNE 10, 2019 Fotis Dulos' new attorney Norm Pattis said on a Connecticut radio station that Michelle Troconis has an alibi and was not in New Canaan the morning Jennifer Dulos went missing. Troconis' attorney, Andrew Bowman, has not said where his client was that morning.Photo: Tatiana Flowers / Hearst Connecticut Media

93of139FINDING JENNIFER JUNE 10, 2019 The New Canaan Police Department launched a website dedicated to the Jennifer Dulos case. Police said they have received hundreds of tips and nearly 100 responses to their request for security video footage.Photo: Contributed photo / New Canaan Police

94of139SIFTING THROUGH TRASH JUNE 10, 2019 The state police search-and-rescue K-9 unit has spent more than a week sifting through garbage at a Hartford dump in hopes of finding evidence in the Jennifer Dulos case. The police dogs are specifically trained to detect biological materials such as human blood and bodily fluids.Photo: Connecticut state police

96of139DNA AND BLOOD IN KITCHEN SINK 10:15 AM JUNE 11, 2019 In an effort to have bond increased, State's Attorney Richard Colangelo told a judge that Fotis Dulos' DNA was found mixed with his estranged wife's blood on the faucet of a kitchen sink in her New Canaan home. Judge John Blawie maintained the bond amount at $500,000.Photo: Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media

97of139TAKING THE FIFTH 2 PM JUNE 11, 2019 Fotis Dulos used his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination by refusing to testify in family court where Jennifer Dulos' mother, Gloria Farber, was seeking custody of the five children.Photo: Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media

98of139RELEASED ON BOND 4 PM JUNE 11, 2019 After several hours of waiting for one of his attorneys to retrieve his passport at his Farmington home, Fotis Dulos paid $37,150 to be released from the Bridgeport Correctional Center where he had been lodged for 10 days since his arrest.Photo: Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media

99of139BACK HOME 6 PM JUNE 11, 2019 Fotis Dulos returned to his Jefferson Crossing home after posting bail. Swarms of media are not allowed inside the private neighborhood, but reporters followed him to a grocery store and captured video of him jogging.Photo: Lisa Backus

100of139POND SEARCH JUNE 12, 2019 The search for Jennifer Dulos turned to an Avon pond, where she claimed in divorce documents that her husband pushed their children to "dangerous" limits training to be competitive water skiers.Photo: Lisa Backus / For Hearst Connecticut Media

102of139DIRE SITUATION JUNE 21, 2019 Family and friends of Jennifer Dulos released a statement, saying the situation is "dire" as the search approached the one-month mark. “Each passing day intensifies the impact of this tragedy on Jennifer’s children, who have not seen their mother — the guiding presence in their lives — in 28 days," the family statement said.Photo: Contributed photo /

104of139FIGHTING BACK JUNE 24, 2019 One month after Jennifer Dulos vanished, Carrie Luft, a spokeswoman for her family, criticized Norm Pattis' "Gone Girl" theory. Luft said the family was concerned about the "attacks and ludicrous” theories Pattis has made about the disappearance.Photo: Contributed photo

105of139CROSSING STATE LINES JUNE 24, 2019 Fotis Dulos, who cannot leave Connecticut without a judge's approval, briefly went into New York when his attorneys claimed a driving app directed him around an accident. "It's no big deal," Norm Pattis said.Photo: Patrick Raycraft / TNS

106of139DUMP SEARCH 'WORTH IT' JUNE 25, 2019 New Canaan police announced the three-week search of a Hartford trash facility has concluded. While authorities did not say whether anything was found, Brian Foley, the executive aide to James Rovella, who heads the state police, said the efforts were "worth it."Photo: Patrick Raycraft / TNS

107of139FOTIS ASKS TO SEE MICHELLE JUNE 25, 2019 Attorney Norm Pattis filed a motion, requesting a judge to clarify the conditions of his client's release. Pattis claimed Michelle Troconis was overheard saying she still loved Fotis Dulos while she was gathering belongings at their Farmington home and his client wanted to reunite with her.Photo: Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media

108of139MICHELLE TELLS FOTIS: DON'T CONTACT ME JUNE 26, 2019 Michelle Troconis' attorney responded with a motion of his own, requesting a judge to ban Fotis Dulos and his attorneys from contacting his client. Attorney Andrew Bowman said Pattis' recent statements and motions have been “filed and made solely to serve the purposes and interests of Mr. Dulos at the expense of Michelle Troconis.”Photo: Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media

109of139MICHELLE SEEKS VACATION JUNE 26, 2019 Attorney Andrew Bowman filed a motion, requesting for his client to be allowed to leave the state from June 30 until July 17.Photo: Erik Trautmann / Associated Press

110of139FOTIS SPEAKS JUNE 26, 2019 Following a divorce hearing, Fotis Dulos spoke publicly for the first time since his wife's disappearance. In a brief statement outside the Stamford courthouse, Dulos sent a message to his five children. “I just want to tell my children that they are constantly on my mind,” Fotis Dulos told reporters while standing next to his lawyers. “I love them and miss them very much.”Photo: Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media

112of139'REVENGE SUICIDE' JUNE 26, 2019 During the divorce hearing, Norm Pattis offered a new theory: Jennifer Dulos could have orchestrated a "revenge suicide" to frame her husband.Photo: Tyler Sizemore /Hearst Connecticut Media

113of139TRACONIS ON 'TIGHT LEASH' JUNE 28, 2019 A judge granted Michelle Troconis' request to travel out of state from June 30 to July 17. State's Attorney Richard Colangelo requested that Troconis be on a "tight leash" and confined to the property where she is staying. The judge also upheld a previous order banning Fotis Dulos and Troconis from contacting each other.Photo: Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media

114of139CALLING FOR A TIMEOUT JUNE 28, 2019 Attorneys for Fotis Dulos filed a motion in family court, seeking to suspend the divorce proceedings because Jennifer Dulos was missing and cannot participate.Photo: Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media

115of139MICHELLE BACK IN CT JULY 1, 2019 After just one day in New York, Michelle Troconis returned to Connecticut due to a malfunction with her electronic monitoring device.Photo: Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media

116of139SISTER'S SUPPORT JULY 1, 2019 Rena Dulos, the older sister of Fotis Dulos, contacted local media organizations in support of her brother. In a phone interview from Greece, she said, "the truth is really far from what’s out there now.”Photo: Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media

117of139FOTIS INTERVIEW JULY 2, 2019 Fotis Dulos proclaimed his innocence in his first one-on-one interview. “I know what I’ve done, and I know what I haven’t done," Dulos told NBC New York. "So, I have to stand and fight and hope that the truth is going to come out.”Photo: Contributed Photo

118of139MORE CHARGES EXPECTED JULY 3, 2019 New Canaan Police Chief Leon Krolikowski said he can "foresee additional charges" filed in the case. Krolikowski made the statement during a segment for CNN's Headline News, which aired a feature on the case on "True Crime Live."Photo: Martin Cassidy / Hearst Connecticut Media

120of139MORE SUPPORT FOR FOTIS JULY 7, 2019 Nancy Mastrocosta, a leader of the Greek water skiing federation, said Fotis Dulos was seen as a "caring father" and mentor to his children while they were training and competing.Photo: Contributed photo

121of139FOTIS A NO-SHOW JULY 9, 2019 Attorneys representing Jennifer Dulos' mother, Gloria Farber, called for sanctions against Fotis Dulos after he failed to show up for a deposition in the 85-year-old's civil lawsuit that accuses him of failing to repay more than $2 million in loans.Photo: Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media

122of139REQUEST DENIED JULY 10, 2019 The New Canaan Police Department denied Hearst Connecticut Media's request for the video footage obtained in Hartford. Police Chief Leon Krolikowski cited a subsection of the state's Freedom of Information Act that lists several exemptions that allow some evidence to not be released to the public.Photo: Kaitlyn Krasselt / Hearst Connecticut Media

123of139'THERE IS AN EXPLANATION' JULY 10, 2019 Norm Pattis said "there is an explanation" if the video footage shows Fotis Dulos dumping bloody garbage bags in Hartford. Pattis admitted it was "a very awkward set of facts," but said the defense could explain the situation at trial.Photo: Tyler Sizemore, Hearst Connecticut Media

125of139'NOT A FIT PARENT' JULY 17, 2019 In a response to Fotis Dulos objecting to his mother-in-law intervening in the divorce to take custody of the children, Gloria Farber's attorneys said the court has "more than ample evidence" that shows he is "not a fit parent."Photo: Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media

126of139BACK IN COURT 10 AM JULY 18, 2019 Michelle Troconis appeared for a brief court hearing that lasted just 90 seconds. The time was mostly spent discussing her GPS monitoring device malfunctioning when she left the state on June 30. Her case was continued to Aug. 19.Photo: Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media

127of139DEFENSE: 'DROP CHARGES' JULY 24, 2019 Attorneys for Fotis Dulos filed a motion, requesting a judge to drop the tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution charges. The attorneys claimed the charges have "no basis in the evidence or law."Photo: Tatiana Flowers / Hearst Connecticut Media

128of139DOCTOR EVALUATES FOTIS
SEPTEMBER 2019
Fotis Dulos has undergone two psychological evaluations since his wife filed for divorce in 2017 and has been deemed a “gregarious and confident person” with no psychopathic tendencies, according to the latest in a series of motions filed in the heated custody dispute.Photo: Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media

129of139MICHELLE TROCONIS SURRENDERS TO POLICE
SEPTEMBER 5, 2019
Michelle Troconis turned herself in Thursday afternoon on a new tampering with evidence charge in connection with Jennifer Dulos’ disappearance. Troconis surrendered to state police a the Troop G barracks in Bridgeport around 1:30 p.m. and was released just before 3 p.m. after posting $100,000 bond.Photo: Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media

130of139FOTIS SAYS JENNIFER IS ALIVE ON TV
SEPTEMBER 2019
Fotis Dulos, the estranged husband of Jennifer Dulos and chief suspect in her disappearance, believes she is still alive. In a preview of the interview with NBC’s Dateline, Dulos provided little explanation behind that belief.Photo: NBC

131of139FOTIS CLAIMS JENNIFER HAD PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS
OCTOBER 2019
Fotis Dulos told a Greek media outlet last week that his estranged wife suffered for years with “serious psychological problems.”
“I'm sorry to say it, but Jennifer was suffering from serious psychological problems that I didn't immediately understand and didn't want to go into further,” Fotis Dulos told the publication. “I put it aside because I was in love with her and focused on other things that make our lives beautiful.”Photo: Contributed photo / New Canaan Police

132of139PATTIS FILES GAG ORDER APPEAL WITH SUPREME COURT
OCTOBER 2019
Attorney Norm Pattis has filed his formal appeal with the state Supreme Court asking for a hearing on whether the gag order imposed on the criminal case against Fotis Dulos should be overturned.Photo: Brian A. Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media

133of139MICHELLE TROCONIS SPLITS FROM FOTIS
OCTOBER 2019
Michelle Troconis has moved her belongings out of the Farmington home she shared with Fotis Dulos.Photo: Erik Trautmann, Hearst Connecticut Media

135of139BILL COSBY'S FORMER LAWYER TO TESTIFY
DECEMBER 2019
A high-profile New York attorney who represented fallen comedian Bill Cosby will testify in the $2.5 million civil lawsuits filed against Fotis Dulos.
Attorney John P. Schmitt, best known for defending Cosby in sexual assault lawsuits, was an executor of Hilliard Farber’s estate. Schmitt is expected to provide information on the financial transactions that occurred between Farber and his son-in-law, according to court documentsPhoto: Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media

139of139FOTIS TO BE CHARGED WITH MURDER
JANUARY 7, 2020
State Police took Fotis Dulos into custody and he was expected to be charged with murder. A source said he was taken to Bridgeport where he would be charged in the murder of his missing wife Jennifer Dulos as well as conspiracy to commit murder.Photo: File photo

STAMFORD — In a complex case like the Jennifer Dulos homicide, the prosecution is offering a potential jury two options: murder or felony murder.

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If that same death occurred over the course of a felony crime — like kidnapping, first- or third-degree sexual assault, home invasion or a similar crime — then the defendant may also face a felony murder charge. Unlike a regular murder charge, felony murder does not require prosecutors to prove the death was intentional.

Mark Sherman, a criminal defense attorney also based in Stamford, said the felony murder count serves as a “backup charge” if “straight-up murder” can’t be definitively proven.

“A felony murder in certain cases, not necessarily this one, is easier to prove because it doesn’t require the clear-cut intent to kill,” Sherman said.

“The state has blindly stacked charges against Mr. Dulos in hopes that one charge will fortuitously stick,” Pattis said. Pattis did not respond to a request for comment.

In arrest warrants, police have accused Fotis Dulos of plotting to kill his wife, saying the 52-year-old was “lying in wait” at her New Canaan home when she returned from dropping off their children at a nearby school around 8 a.m. on May 24.

In the latest arrest warrant, police said Fotis Dulos fatally injured his wife, bound her using zip ties and transported her to an unknown location.

“As there is little reason to incapacitate a deceased person, it is reasonable that Jennifer Dulos was alive at the time the zip ties were attached to restrain her movements and prevent her escape,” State police Detective John Kimball wrote in the warrant.

A homicide qualifies as murder with special circumstances in eight specific instances, one of which is “murder by a kidnapper of a kidnapped person during the course of the kidnapping or before such person is able to return or be returned to safety,” according to state statute.

While murder and felony murder charges carry a minimum sentence of 25 years in jail and as much as 60 years behind bars, a murder with special circumstances conviction carries a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

However, a charge of murder with special circumstances would likely have been more difficult to prove, Sherman argued.

“I can’t speak for prosecutors, but what I can tell you is that generally in prosecutions, prosecutors want to keep it as simple as possible for a jury, especially in a circumstantial case where you’re missing direct evidence such as a victim’s body,” Sherman said.

State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo said Monday he could not answer questions related to the charges in the case. Mark Dupuis, the communications representative for the chief state's attorney, also said he could not comment.

Fotis Dulos and Troconis, who were previously charged with tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution in the case, are each on house arrest after posting bond. Mawhinney remains held in lieu of $2 million bond.

Pat Tomlinson is a reporter covering crime, transportation and all things Norwalk Harbor for The Hour. A Norwalk native, Pat first started working for the paper as an intern prior to attending college. He returned to the team after school and has since reported for The Stamford Times, the Wilton Villager and, now, The Hour.